Deep inside Syria, a Bishop
worked around the edges of international law to save the lives of more
than 200 people from IS.

It took more than a year, and videotaped
killings of three captives, before all the rest were freed.

The millions in ransom money came in dollar by dollar, euro by euro,
from around the world.

The donations, raised from church offerings, a
Christmas concert, and the diaspora of Assyrian Christians on Facebook,
landed in a bank account in Iraq. Its ultimate destination was Islamic
State.

Paying ransoms is illegal in the United States and most of the West,
and the idea of paying the militants is morally fraught, even for those
who saw no alternative.

“You look at it from the moral side and I get it. If we give them
money we’re just feeding into it, and they’re going to kill using that
money,” said Aneki Nissan, who helped raise funds in Canada. But, he
said, there were more than 200 lives at stake, “and to us, we’re such a
small minority that we have to help each other.”

The Assyrian Christians were seized from the Khabur River valley in
northern Syria, among the last holdouts of a dwindling minority that had
been chased across the Middle East for generations.

They trace their heritage to the earliest days of Christianity, their
Church of the East founded by the apostle known as Doubting Thomas.

To
this day, they speak a dialect of Aramaic, believed to be the native
language of Jesus.

But most also speak Arabic and some Kurdish, the
languages of the neighbours who have long outnumbered them.

In a single night of horror on February 23, 2015, ISIS fighters
attacked the Christian towns simultaneously, sweeping up scores of
people and sending everyone from 35 towns and villages fleeing for their
lives.

The Vatican has launched a new website detailing its efforts to protect children from sexual abuse by
clergy, including guidelines for verifying people's identities when
recruiting clergy.

It's the first time the Vatican is publishing the documents and
resources in one place, including an email and phone number to contact
its Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which was
established in 2013.

"It is very important to the Commission that we are as transparent as
possible," project coordinator Emer McCarthy told CNN. "Our members
want people to know that they are doing their level best to carry out
the commission of the Holy Father."

"Much of the work of the Commission is listening, study and
reflection, so there will not be day-to-day updates, but the website is
the vehicle to let people know that we are here," she added.

The website includes a template for local churches around the world
to use in establishing their own norms for protecting minors from
clerical sex abuse.

McCarthy said the website aims to reach communities in Latin America,
Africa and Asia, which have received less attention about child abuse
than congregations in the United States and Europe have.

The guidelines include verifying people's identities when recruiting
clergy, employees and volunteers for Church activities, and vetting them
for criminal records.

The website also recommends "full information sharing" when priests are seeking to transfer from one diocese to another.

A chaplain to the Brisbane
ex-services community has questioned the effectiveness of a new
government program pitched at encouraging businesses to employ former
defence force personnel.

Last month, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull launched the Veterans’
Employment Initiative, which would automatically give military veterans a
job interview, if they have the right skills, training, and experience.

So far, 15 of Australia’s biggest employers have signed up for the
program, under which businesses would be encouraged to partner with
ex-service organisations to develop strategies for boosting veteran
employment.

But Brisbane Deacon Gary Stone has questioned whether the new program
would really hit the mark. “If anything is needed it is better
transitional arrangements to train and prepare to re-engage in civilian
life,” Deacon Stone said.

About 5500 men and women leave the military ranks each year but of
that number 1000 personnel are medically discharged and are considered
“vulnerable.”

A push to have a second
Australian elevated to sainthood has moved a step forward after doctor
and humanita­rian Sr Mary Glowrey was exhu­med from her grave in
Bangalore, India.

Sr Mary has been return­ed to Guntur, where she carried out most of her work with India’s poorest before her death 60 years ago.

The exhumation is seen as a critical path to canonisation of one of
Victoria’s early female doctors, held in high regard by both the Church
and the medical profession.

Sr Mary graduated from the University of Melbourne with a bachelor of
medicine and bachelor of surgery in 1910. As an undergraduate she
started her service of the marginalised and vulnerable, visiting slums
in Fitzroy, Colling­wood, and Richmond to care for women and their
babies.

“Her sisters, Lucy and Eliza, had to keep replenishing Mary’s
blankets and clothes as she was always giving them to someone more
needy,” Catholic Wom­en’s League of Victoria and Wagga Wagga spokeswoman
Robyn Fahy said.

The Church started the process for Sr Mary Glowrey’s sainthood three years ago. The legacy of her efforts between 1920 and 1956 live on.

In 1943 she established the Catholic Health Association of India,
which has grown into India’s biggest healthcare network, supporting more
than 3500 institutions and providing care for more than 21 million
people each year.

She was the first woman to be granted a medical residency in New
Zealand as no positions were available for women who graduated in
Australia.

Despite her religion, she considered herself a doctor first and maintained a strong link to the University of Melbourne.

Ms Fahy said Mary, who was born at Birregurra, left her thriving
medical career in Victoria in 1920 to join the Cong­regation of the
Society of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

The doctor was prompted into mission work after reading a pamphlet about the appalling death rate of babies in India.

She received a special dispensation from Pope Pius XI to practice medicine and became the first nun-doctor missionary.

The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I received the
St Nicholas Ecumenical Prize in the Basilica of St Nicholas, Bari
(Italy).

The prize is awarded by the Apulian Theological Faculty (Facoltà Teologica Pugliese) to eminent Catholic and Orthodox individuals who promote Christian unity.In his address, the patriarch said that religions have an important
role "in creating, establishing and consolidating the principle of
communion for mutual collaboration and understanding, pushing away the
fundamentalisms that are found in all societies and religions". The goal
in doing this is to create a new relationship between peoples.

In a telegram, Pope Francis called the award a "significant
acknowledgment" and a "sign of gratitude" for the services rendered by
Bartholomew "to promote an ever greater communion among all believers in
Christ."

In the message, addressed to the Archbishop of Bari-Bitonto,
Francesco Cacucci, the Pope joins "spiritually dear brother Bartholomew
in the veneration of the Holy Bishop of Myra Nicholas, whose relics have
been preserved in Bari for almost a thousand years, entrusting to the
intercession of this Pastor so loved in the East and the West the
‘common prayer’ for the desired goal of full Christian unity."

In accepting the award, Bartholomew said that "we welcome it as a
prophetic sign of unity of all the Holy Churches of God, whose
theological journey between our Churches and the love, respect and
collaboration are one of the fundamental traits."

In his speech, the patriarch went on to highlight the "relational" aspect of the "communal experience" with Christ.

This "means participating together in the divine nature through the
grace given to us by God in all aspects of Christian life: blessings,
trials and tribulations, consolation, support, solidarity, fraternity.

“It means sharing faith, sharing spirituality, praying for each
other; it means concretely realising this communion of our lives and put
it into practice; it means experiencing communion in dialogue, peace
and unity."

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin
Welby, has announced the imminent arrival of two new senior staff
members at Lambeth Palace.

The Revd Dr Will Adam is to be the
Archbishop’s ecumenical adviser while Ruth Mawhinney is to become the
new head of media relations.

Veteran journalist Jonathan Petre had previously been announced as the new head of media relations, but withdrew his acceptance of the post and will remain as religion correspondent with the Mail on Sunday.Dr Adam’s new role is a combined post: he will also serve as the
ecumenical officer for the Church of England’s Council of Christian
Unity (CCU).

“I am delighted that Will Adam will be bringing his considerable
experience and expertise to this post,” Archbishop Justin said. “His
understanding of both national and international ecumenism will be a
real asset to the work at Lambeth and at CCU. There are wonderful
opportunities in ecumenism in these times, and we must always strive to
be obedient to Jesus’ desire that his Church ‘may be one.’”

Speaking of Ruth Mawhinney’s appointment, the archbishop said: “I am
delighted that Ruth will be joining our communications team at Lambeth
Palace. As an experienced journalist and practicing Christian, she will
understand the unique and guiding role that faith can play in both
personal and professional life.”

Dr Adam has extensive ecumenical experience. He was a Church of
England member of the Joint Implementation Group – a co-ordinating body
set up under the Anglican-Methodist Covenant; and a delegate to the
World Council of Churches’ Assembly in Harare. He has previously worked
as a diocesan ecumenical officer with responsibility for links between
the diocese and a church of the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland – the
Evangelical Church of Germany – which is linked with the Church of
England through the Meissen Agreement. He is a member of the
International Colloquium of Anglican and Roman Catholic Canon Lawyers
and chair of his local Churches Together ecumenical group.

“I am delighted to be taking up this post,” Dr Adam said. “My
commitment to the reconciliation of Christ's church goes back to my
early student days. I am looking forward to supporting the Archbishop
and the wider Church of England in ecumenical mission and ministry in
the coming years.”

Ruth Mawhinney is currently the editor of the online news site Christian Today. She began her journalistic career on the Baptist Times before becoming deputy editor and then editor of Christianity magazine.

“I’m thrilled to be taking up this role and joining the excellent
team at Lambeth Palace,” she said. “In this time of global uncertainty I
believe Archbishop Justin Welby provides a much-needed voice of hope
and reason. I'm also looking forward to using the skills gained in my
years as a journalist and editor to help the archbishop communicate his
three priorities of evangelism, prayer and reconciliation.”

The Church Commissioners – the statutory investment body responsible
for historic assets of the Church of England – has won three major
prizes at the Investment & Pensions Europe (IPE) Awards for its
ethical and responsible investment work.

The awards – for Climate
Related Risk Management; Environment, Social and Governance; and Real
Estate – come on top of the two awards the Commissioners won in April
at the Portfolio Institutional Awards. But it did not take the top
award of Best European Pension Fund, for which it was shortlisted.“We are thrilled with these awards,” the Commissioners’ head of
responsible investment, Edward Mason, said. “They reflect our commitment
to responsible investment, good governance and acting on climate
change. There is still much work to be done, and of course in the long
term the prize that really matters is meeting the two degree target
agreed in Paris last year.

The Church Commissioners launched a comprehensive climate policy last
year ahead of the COP21 climate change conference in Paris. That was
one of the things recognised by the judges, along with its “pivotal
focus” on shareholder resolutions and engagement; and ensuring the
reduction of the portfolio’s carbon footprint through investment and
divestment strategy. This lead to what the C of E said was “a near
perfect score of 19.75 points out of a possible 20 for Climate Related
Risk Management.”

The Commissioners hit the headlines this year after it garnered substantial support for a shareholder motion on climate change at ExxonMobil’s AGM.

The IPE Awards are presented at Europe’s largest annual gathering of
pension funds and service providers.

The Church Commissioners manage a
£7 billion investment fund for the Church of England.

Last year it
distributed funds of £218.5 million, making it the third largest
charitable giver in the UK; and the 14th largest internationally.

Aram I, Armenian Apostolic Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, in
Antelias, Lebanon, announced that the request for the
return of the ancient residences and properties belonging to the
Catholicosate and located in Sis, in Turkish territory, will be
submitted to the European Court for Human Rights - based in Strasbourg -
after the Constitutional Court of Turkey did not accept the request to
discuss and resolve the dispute on the properties of Sis within the
Turkish legal system .
"This - remarked Catholicos Aram I in the video message in which he
announced the initiative - is the first legal action taken against
Turkey after the Armenian Genocide of 1915, is the result of long and
serious discussions, studies and consultations, and is based on
international legal provisions, including the decisions of the Treaty of
Lausanne of 1932, regarding the minorities living within the boundaries
of the Turkish Republic".
The cause to obtain the restitution of the Catholicosate’s historic
buildings located in the city of Sis, started by Catholicos Aram I in
2015, had not been taken into account neither by the Turkish Ministry of
Justice nor by the Turkish Constitutional Court. Both Turkish
institutions had not recognized any legal basis to the cause.
Sis, the ancient capital of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, corresponds
to the current Turkish town of Kozan. The intention to appeal, in April
2015, had already been announced on several occasions by the Catholicos
of Cilicia between September and October 2014. "We cannot remain
apathetic with regards to the violated rights of our nation", said Aram
on September 19, 2015 in Yerevan, on the occasion of the 5th Conference
of the Armenian Diaspora. As already reported by Agenzia Fides (see
Fides 01/10/2014), the Catholicos himself had predicted that, in the
event that the Turkish institutions would take the matter into
consideration, the appeal would be submitted to the European Court of
Human Rights.

"We appreciate the steps taken and we thank those who have contributed"
say the Bishops of Burundi in their Pastoral Letter published for the
closing of the Holy Year of Mercy.

"At the opening of the Jubilee Year
we had hoped that this Year would be for Burundians an opportunity for
reconciliation, so that contenders would sit down, and would tell the
truth in a frank dialogue that would allow to solve the Country's
problems, so Burundians can live in peace and security", says the
message sent to Agenzia Fides.
"There are still so many brothers and sisters who are refugees outside
the Country" the Bishops recall. "Although they have heard our appeal,
they dare not come back because they do not feel safe. Isn’t there
something to be corrected so that they feel safe?" says the message.
The Bishops complain that those who have remained in the country "are
wary of each other, they are afraid to speak the truth out loud, there
is no longer trust in one’s neighbor, just when it is time to say the
truth and accept the truth that saves and reconciles".
The Burundian political crisis dates back to April 2015, when President
Pierre Nkurunziza announced the decision to present himself for a third
term, in violation of the Constitution and of the Arusha Peace Accords.

The re-election of Nkurunziza, in July of that year, worsened the
situation with murders and disappearances of people linked to the
opposition and the emergence of anti Nkurunziza guerrilla groups.

The
violence has so far caused 500 deaths and about 300,000 people have fled
to neighboring Countries.

"No doubt this phenomenon occurs more here on the border, where
expulsions are on the rise along with the emigration of those who come
from Central America, driven by insecurity or poverty in which these
countries live", said His Exc. Mgr. Eugenio Andrés Lira Rugarcía, Bishop
of Matamoros, before the increase of migrants at the border and in the
border town.

"The main challenge for the authorities in Matamoros is to
have the necessary resources to meet the possible mass expulsions that
could arise", he added.
The note sent to Fides reports that the Diocese of Matamoros is working
hard with two houses for migrants and an information center.

The Bishop
stressed that the main challenge for the coming months is to check
resources and spaces that are needed to accommodate the community of
those expelled that could arrive in this border city.

"We need more
efforts, to work together with the authorities, everyone, civil society,
religious organizations and others who want to help, seeking the
well-being of migrants and their families", the statement concludes.
According to information from the local press, this border city is
prepared to handle a considerable flow of people who will have to return
to Mexico in the coming weeks.

On Sunday, December 4, a group of Haitian citizens received the
sacrament of Confirmation in the parish of San Saturnino in Santiago del
Chile, and on this occasion the Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal
Ricardo Ezzati, who presided the ceremony, defended the immigrants.

According to the note sent to Fides from a local source, last week a
discussion on immigration policy in Chile took place.

In this regard,
the Cardinal said that "the Church of Santiago, through the Chilean
Catholic Institute of Migration and many priests who accompany the many
foreign brothers, lives a special experience, because the doors are open
to welcome, integrate and share the wealth that these different
cultures have".
During the ceremony, presided over by Cardinal Ezzati and the parish
priest of San Saturnino, Father Juan Carlos Cortez, 15 Haitians received
Confirmation, eight of whom were also baptized.
"The Lord comes into our lives in every moment of our existence, in a
very special way for those brothers who are here to receive the
sacrament of Confirmation. The Lord enters in their history for they are
men and women of faith, when they open the doors to God", said Cardinal
Ezzati.
According to the parish of San Saturnino, in the last two years more
than 45,000 Haitian citizens arrived in Chile. Of these 450 have been
welcomed into the community and participate in training activities
(Spanish language courses), catechesis, social assistance, solidarity
and workshops to learn a trade.
A survey published by a national newspaper reported that 85% of Chileans
want the expulsion of immigrants with legal problems, and 75% consider
it necessary to impose restrictions on immigration.

The government
initiated the political debate on the subject in recent days, in view of
a revision of the immigration law.

A married couple who describe themselves as a bishop and vicar are
bringing religious devotion to new heights after they transformed their
rented apartment into a church, according to Cork's Evening Echo.

Bishop
Denis Dineen, founder of the Celtic Community Church in Ireland - an
organisation originally founded by Saint Patrick, Saint Columba and
other Celtic saints - is a Mallow-based organisation which describes
itself as “a traditional Anglican Catholic denomination”.

He devised the idea with his wife Vicar Elena Aloysius.

Now
72 years old, the Mallow resident found religion later in life and is
hoping his faith will serve as a beacon to those in dire straits.

Vicar
Aloysius from Switzerland, who joined the order four years ago at just
18 years old, described their unconventional north Cork abode.“If you walk into our home it looks like a monastery,”
she said. “The first thing you’ll see are holy pictures everywhere and a
bible on the table.

“It’s effectively a mini church with
an altar, flowers and statues. We have a couple of people who come to us
regularly but a lot of our masses are streamed online as well. Over
time we hope to build our community and eventually acquire a bigger
chapel.”

She opened up about home life and the months leading up to their marriage last February.

“Our
church is connected all over the world so it was suggested that I
travel to Ireland in order for Bishop Denis and I to work together. My
boss at the time didn’t believe I would make it a month. For most of the
beginning we would just sit with a homeless person at the side of the
street. Our lifestyle is very strict. We do the sacraments, pray, and
don’t own any properties.

“Neither of us own a car because
we feel it brings us away from the people. We meet so many people
through public transport and get all kinds of reactions.” She recalled
their “no-frills” wedding ceremony.“We
try to keep our lives very simple and get along very well. Bishop Denis
and I had a civil ceremony for our wedding before blessing the rings at
our own chapel. Our lives are not romantic. My main concentration is
the priesthood as I’ve been living a vow of chastity since the age of 18
years old. As husband and wife we are good companions and do everything
together. We definitely have a different relationship to most married
couples.”

The couple favour helping the homeless over date
nights.

“We travel on foot armed with backpacks filled with sandwiches
and soup. Much of our time is spent going to grocery stores and asking
for things we can give to the poor. I’ve never gone out at night or been
in a pub or club. Even in my teenage years I spent my free time serving
at Mass.”

A new humanitarian corridor between Italy and Ethiopia is to open
soon.

This time, the initiative sees the direct involvement of the
Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI), the Community of Sant’ Egidio, which
is among the main endorsers of the humanitarian corridor initiative and
two organisations linked to CEI, that work in the migration field:
Migrantes and Caritas.

They will play a key role in hosting refugees. A
new protocol is to be signed very soon by all of these organisations,
along with the ministries for interior and foreign affairs, based on the
existing model for welcoming Syrian refugees coming from transit camps
in Lebanon but with the additional participation of the Waldensian
Church and the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy as well as
the Community of Sant’Egidio. The ambitious aim is to establish a safe and legal corridor to allow
the passage of at least 500 African refugees into Italy. Ethiopia is the
African country bearing the brunt of the migration flow, as it takes in
the highest number of refugees fleeing conflict, famine, persecution
and environmental disasters.

The country is home to four large refugee
camps and the plan is to welcome people of three nationalities:
Eritreans, Somalis and people from South Sudan. The situation in these
countries is critical; naturally, once the protocol is agreed with the
Italian government, a complex organisation phase will follow: fruitful
communication and relationships will need to be established with
Ethiopian authorities, the government, the police and with the Ethiopian
agency that runs the refugee camps. A similar collaboration was established with Lebanon – where the
domestic institutional framework was by no means simple – but in this
case, the situation was even more complex given how fragile the
institutions are and especially given the pressure from other
humanitarian crises and the conflicts underway across the entire
Sub-Saharan region.

This is why contact has already been established
with organisations and personnel present on the ground. The Italian
Church has also played an important role in this and will be making a
substantial economic contribution. After all, most of the migrants
arriving in Italy hail from Eritrea and Somalia. Humanitarian corridors have also been consolidated with Lebanon.
Another 100 refugees arrived in recent days, reaching a total of 500
people since the initiative was launched last December. Now it is
Ethiopia’s turn and the process for opening a Moroccan route still needs
to be completed. Meanwhile, humanitarian corridors are setting the
example on an international level: the UN, the European Parliament and
various countries look at the Italian model with keen interest.

In fact,
a similar initiative is about to be launched in France, with the
Community of Sant’Egidio, Caritas France and the country’s evangelical
churches; in this case too, the focus is on Lebanon, which also hosts a
vast number of Syrian refugees (around 400,000 people). Interestingly,
as the Community of Sant’Egidio explains, “the initiative is mustering
consensus and an ever broader participation. Many associations, parishes
and local entities want to take part, even individual families. This is
a sign that the importance of the initiative has been understood.” On the other hand, the need to create legal humanitarian channels to
manage the flow of refugees, with a view to putting an end to deaths at
sea and exploitation by human traffickers, has been felt for some time
now. The aim of the initiative is to combat the “trafficking” of people
fleeing wars, “to make it possible for people in vulnerable conditions
(as well as victims of persecution, torture and violence, there are
families with children, elderly, sick and disable people) to legally
enter Italian territory with a humanitarian visa and the chance to then
apply for asylum”; This way refugees can enter Italy in a way that is
safe for themselves and for everyone because in order for them to obtain
a humanitarian visa, they will have to undergo all necessary checks by
Italian authorities.

The former priest of township parish was investigated on allegations
that he molested a 16-year-old boy and suspended from ministry as a lay
person in the mid-1980s.

Rev. Kevin A. Gugliotta, 54, was investigated when he was a Boy Scout
leader and engineer, but the Vatican ruled that canon law, church law,
prevented him from being punished because he was not an ordained priest
yet, a report by NJ.com states.

He became ordained in 1996.

Gugliotta was reinstated in December 2004 and served at five
parishes, including St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Wyckoff and
Immaculate Conception Church in Mahwah, before asking for a transfer
this past summer, according to the NJ.com report.

Gugliotta allegedly fondled the boy against his will and stalked him into adulthood, the report said.

Gugliotta is a nationally ranked poker player.

He was arrested
on dozens of child sexual abuse counts in October.

He allegedly
possessed and disseminated child pornography after authorities
investigated someone uploading child pornography to an internet chat
room in Lehigh Township, Pennsylvania, where Gugliotta has a residence.

Gugliotta remains incarcerated in Pennsylvania in lieu of $1 million bail.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and the Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, have discussed the
problem of erosion of traditional Christian values in modern day Europe.
"We saw the face of Catholic France during protests against the law on
child adoption by same-sex couples," Patriarch Kirill said at their
meeting in the Catholic Archdiocese in Paris on Monday.
He expressed solidarity with the Roman Catholic Church on this issue and
thanked the archbishop of Paris for the firm stance on the issue of
same-sex "marriages". At the cardinal's exhortation, French Catholics
actively protested against the law legalizing same-sex unions and their
right to adopt children.
The Russian Church leader also thanked the cardinal for the support in
the construction of the St. Trinity Cathedral and the Russian Cultural
and Spiritual Center in the prestigious 7th arrondissement of the French
capital on Branly Embankment, not far from the Eiffel Tower.
Cardinal Vingt-Trois congratulated Patriarch Kirill on the Cathedral's
opening and consecration which was performed by the patriarch in front
of hundreds of parishioners, representatives from well-known Russian
emigre families and prominent artists.
"This is a testament to the good relations between our countries. The
Cathedral is the symbol of these good relations," Cardinal Vingt-Trois
said.